This dreadful virus has been a jarring reminder of humans constantly having to play catch-up to those occasions when nature visits us with its unpredictable damaging and sometimes lethal permutations. (This is not to rule out the possible creation of this horrid virus by evil foes.)
As a compulsive news fanatic, I could sit before my television and dwell upon the moment-by-moment announcements by the media of the number of those infected by virus and by those poor souls who have succumbed to its awful hands.
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While I have and do keep abreast of the most recent pronouncements about this virus, I have been engaging in the following activities to keep my mind occupied with that which I can control and to do what I am able, as one humble soul, to maintain my physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being during this sad epoch.
I pray daily to the saints to intervene on our behalf. Jude, of course, is called upon as are the Blessed Mother and her divine Son.
I am and have been a golfer for many decades. I try to play at least twice a week. I play at City Park in New Orleans, a municipal course that has to date remained open. I tee off at first light, I carry my bag, and I am alone. My joy on the golf course has always been great, but my happiness now there has only been rivaled by the day I was able to play in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Lastly, I have used this time to do a much-needed scraping, caulking and painting of our white picket fence and cottage. It has given me immense joy and pleasure to engage in this labor of love as a gift to my wife.
My prayers to you and your loved ones.
Keep your faith, keep your powder dry and forget not we are Americans.
Bob Lawyer is a semi-retired academic who taught for nearly 40 years in higher education before turning in his chalk several years ago. He also served in the U.S. Navy as a Spanish Linguist with a top secret security clearance. He is now the owner and operator of a small retail business located at the French Market in New Orleans. In addition to selling his photos, he primarily markets handmade patron saints and pendants of various saints made by a close friend. He is married to a wonderful woman and has one son, two stepsons, one granddaughter and one grandson.
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Editor’s Note: The coronavirus pandemic has many of us shut up in our homes for now. That can be isolating and frustrating. But it can also be a chance to catch up on things we let fall away during busier times. So we’re asking our writers and readers: How are you spending your time amid the shutdown? We’re open to anything that will make us laugh or think and help us share what will be a difficult time for many. Please send contributions of 250–400 words to editor@spectator.org.
